People in Britain wear the red poppy coming up to Armistice Day and Remembrance Day to commemorate the war dead, the Royal British Legion specifies that the poppy stands for ‘a specific type of Remembrance connected to the British Armed Forces, those who were killed, those who fought with them and alongside them.’

During World War I Ireland was still ruled by Britain, and so thousands of Irish soldiers fought and died in Flanders Field while fighting for the British Armed Forces.

So the traditional red poppy also remembers these men.

Relations between Ireland and the UK in regards historical commemorations have progressed significantly over the past 15 years, a series of milestones such as the Queen official visit to Ireland and the former Taoiseach attending Remembrance Day commemoration service in Northern Ireland (Picture: Getty)

What does the Shamrock Poppy memorialise?

During the Leader’s Questions in the Daíl (parliament) in Dublin this week Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s PM since June wore a special type of poppy pin.

The shamrock poppy featured a red poppy inset on a larger shamrock with the dates 1914 to 1918 and the words ‘Lest We Forget’.

A spokesperson for the Taoiseach told Metro.co.uk that: ‘The Shamrock Poppy recognises Irish soldiers who fought in World War I.’

During World War I, 206,000 Irish men went to fight with the British army and 26,500 of them died in battle.

The image of the poppy came to symbolise the war dead after the poem Flanders Field depicted the poppies growing out of soldier’s graves (Picture: AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

The Department of the Taoiseach said that the Shamrock Poppy ‘was commissioned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great War by the Irish branch of the Royal British Legion.’

The Shamrock Poppy works much the same of the poppy in the UK in that all of the money raised from the sale of Shamrock Poppies will go to Irish veterans and their families.

Money also goes towards ‘the upkeep of memorials to Irish soldiers in Ireland. All money stays in Ireland. They are available from the Irish branch of the Royal Legion.’

PM Leo Varadkar was given the Shamrock Poppy by his Fine Gael party colleague, Senator Frank Feighan.

Where can I buy a Shamrock Poppy?

You can buy the Irish poppy on a shamrock from some of the Irish Royal Legion branches across Ireland if you want to purchase online visit the Limerick branch’s webpage.